2013 - A Good Year

So, I don't know what others thought at the beginning of 2013 but I was a bit skeptical since this year ended with the number 13 which is sometimes thought to be a bad luck number. It turns out that 13 wasn't that bad of a number after all and 2013 was a good year for us.

Johansen Family - December 2013
Kaley (6 mo), Jane (3) and Alyss (1 yr 10 mo)

Here's what happened:

- Alyss turned one and started walking at 14 months

- We moved to Taylorsville at the beginning of June

- My mom (bica) came to visit in June and stayed with us until December 20

- Kaley was born on June 30 by successful VBAC

- David's parents moved to the States from Japan and came to visit in July

- Our apartment flooded in September

- David started a second job selling at Best Buy in September

- Jane turned three in November

- We loved trick-or-treating on Halloween, enjoyed our great Thanksgiving dinner and had fun opening presents at Christmas

Now for each person a little bit to remember...

Kaley - born on June 30 at 11:10pm, at 38 weeks. She was 7lb 14oz and 19.5 in long. She is exclusively breastfed and we introduced solid purées around 5 months of age. Kaley has a hole in her heart that we need to check on periodically. She doesn't seem to be bothered by it. She is a very happy, alert baby. She loves to be help and gives the best hugs. She smiles all the time and people often comment on how beautiful she is and how sparkly, like stars, her blue eyes are. She loves to kick and roll over and she enjoys eating sweet potatoes and squash and drinking from mommy's kefir. Up until 6 months she hasn't cut any teeth yet, to the enjoyment of her mom who is a bit worried about breastfeeding a baby who has teeth and likes to mischievously nibble and play with the source of her food :)

Alyss - man, what a dynamite girl she is! Especially since she likes Wreck it Ralph I think that the description fits her perfectly. She runs around and climbs on everything. She copies everything that Jane does and says. At her 18 months appointment when the doctor asked if she knows 10 words I almost started laughing. Not only does she know a lot more than 10 words but she also understands and speaks both English and Romanian words and even sentences. This baby is pretty much my dynamite baby. She is also very happy and loves to laugh. She already knows the ABC song, Twinkle twinkle little star, The itsy, bitsy spider and even some parts of a couple Christmas songs. She can count to ten almost without any help and knows lines from several movies by heart. She enjoys playing toddler iPad games and puzzles and also loves being outdoors where she loves the park and the swing and to play in the water. 

Jane - our cute, sensitive, dainty Jane! She is such a girl. She puts her hair behind her easy, pulls on her sleeves so that they don't ride up her arms and likes to wear cute clothes. I love how when people say that she is pretty she simply answers "yes" :) She knows she is beautiful and I sure hope she will hold unto that knowledge for ever. As much as she's grown and is more of a child than a toddler now, Jane still likes to crawl around under tables and climb up on tables. She likes to watch a bunch of movies on the computer and play toddler and preschool games on the iPad. She talks a lot and sometimes I wonder how and where she learned some of the things she says. I just love how she actually forms correct sentences and phrases and how we can actually have a conversation. Jane is a very sensitive girl who observes those around her and their feelings. She is touched by music and likes to dance and twirl around with her toys, epically her puppy toys. She loves puppy toys, the 'noceros' (rhinoceros) and the reindeer bath toys and she carries around her beloved pillow what she used to take out in the car but now she just leaves on the couch when we go out. One time we were at the mall and a nice, slow pop song was playing at the radio and Jane almost started crying. I had the same feeling so I totally understood her but I was surprised to see how soft she is. Jane enjoys going to IKEA and to the "parking park" and the dinosaurs at City Creek. She loves her two younger sisters even though she doesn't show it very much. She always makes sure that Alyss also gets gummies, water, apple or whatever Jane asks for. She sometimes holds Kaley and likes to kiss her head. Even though she more often than not makes a mess by leaving toys and books everywhere in the house, Jane also helps mommy with stuff around the house and helps pick up the messes she and Alyss make. Both Jane and Alyss like our sleepy time routine of brushing teeth and reading books and they even 'read' the books to us and know parts of the rhymes in them. Jane's favorite color is pink and her favorite letter is W. She knows many songs and loves to sing. I love how Jane and Alyss sing "oac, oac, diri, diri, dai" or "Monkeys on the bed" while actually jumping even though both the song and mommy tell them no to. 

Dahlee - so, pretty much the biggest, happiest moment this year for me was the birth of our third cutie pie, Kaley Olivia. The birth wasn't too difficult, the only part I didn't enjoy being the labor pain and the painful epidural, and the pushing only lasted a couple of minutes. I still needed an episiotomy but it wasn't as unbearable as last time afterwards this time around. The doctor was amazing and very nice. The other great accomplishment for me is successfully breastfeeding Kaley. She was exclusively breastfed until she was 5 months and we are still doing it and having a good time. I love the closeness breastfeeding brings and even though it gets hard sometimes especially because of having three children so young and close in age it is also very rewarding and comes in handy at night or when we're out and about. I've gotten pretty good at the whole nursing in public thing and not only do I not get embarrassed anymore I actually enjoy doing it. The other thing that I've been learning and working on is the type of parent I want to be for our girls. There are many days when I can't help but wonder "what was I thinking having so many kids so close on age?" but then I look at them and am so proud of every little thing they do, so happy to see them smile and play and giggle, so thankful to see them healthy that I forget all the hard times and just want them to feel loved and happy. We must not be such bad parents after all :) I'm learning about RIE (Resources for Infant Educarers) and attachment parenting and I try to help the girls be independent while knowing that we are there for them and love them unconditionally. I'm far from being a perfect parent but I'm seeing my mistakes and am trying to be a bit better every day. Now, If I could only stop yelling :) One other thing that I've researched quite a bit and started applying in our,livesmismhealthy, greener living. I try to get greener products for our home and for ourselves and I also try eating better and using natural remedies and health options. We take multivitamins and minerals, cod liver oil and probiotics and try to go out for walks every day. I hope that we can get better at living a healthy lifestyle and feel great while doing it.

David - our hardworking daddy. I honestly don't know how he does it. He leaves before 8 in the morning and some days doesn't get home until midnight. Oh, how I wish that he had one job that he loved and provided enough so that he didn't have to work menial jobs and be away from me and the girls so much. There have been days when the girls wouldn't see daddy for two or three days in a row and it really saddens me to see them ask for daddy and want to be with him when he has to be at work to provide for us. We love daddy so much and hope that 2014 is the year when our dream of having one great job and daddy home more will come true. The sad thing is that David is so good and knowledgeable at working with Macs and iPads; he is great at teaching people how to use them; he can troubleshoot and fix computer problems while helping others understand the problems; he wrote a book about the use of iPads in the school district where he works, was invited to speak at several educational technology conferences and was asked to help and tutor several people and companies. Yet, he is underpaid and not able to get a better paying job because of not having a degree in educational technology which would require money and time that he doesn't have. There also isn't a huge job market for technology teaching. He could work for a company but we haven't been directed towards such opportunities and are not aware of many companies who would give him an opportunity to show what he knows and can do. So, he keeps trying and learning more every day. He is also a really good and loving dad. He plays with the girls and I love seeing him hold both Jane and Alyss in his arms when we are out and they are tired of walking. He reads to the girls and helps them get ready for bed and almost always stays with them until they fall asleep. He is also a great husband. Who would come home from a long day at work to do dishes and vacuum the living room because Mommy had a rough day and didn't get to do it? I just love him and my girls so much and feel, so lucky to have such a wonderful family.

We hope that your 2013 was a great year and wish you all a new year with much love, health and happiness. Happy New Year 2014!

Our Sweet Little Girls

Welcome into our Family, Kaley Olivia Johansen!

So, yeah! Kaley is here!!!! Here's what happened (I feel like Monk right now :))

Proud mommy holding baby Kaley (2 days old) 

After the stripping of the membranes, at 38 weeks, I got more cramps and lost more of the mucous plug but nothing seemed too serious or like labor was really that close. On Saturday, the 29th I thought that I was leaking amniotic fluid but it urned out that it wasn't it so we all went to the baby shower/BBQ that Eni and the girls organized for me. It was a lot of fun and quite a few people showed up. I felt tired and big the entire time so I mostly sat down and had food but I had a really good time. Over night I felt ok but I started feeling more contractions, this time more painful. I woke up around 9am and told Davd that Kaley might decide to make an appearance early. We started timing the contractions and they were not very regular and were pretty far apart (15-20 mins) but they were getting stronger. I tried to get some rest which was a good idea. Laying down did help some and I was able to rest a little bit. By the afternoon though the contractions really started to hurt and they were getting closer together. As we were trying to keep Kaley inside before the 1st of July, for insurance purposes, we thought that lying down would be the best option so I spent most of the day in bed or on the couch. By around 4pm though, even sitting or lying down wasn't helping anymore. Every contraction was so painful that I couldn't talk or walk while it was going. We then decided that it was time to go to the hospital. Picked up the hospital bag, kissed the girls goodbye with teary eyes (I just have a really hard time leaving them, especially when I see them cry and being so sad when we leave) and started walking to the car. hat wasn't an easy task as with every contraction I had to stop, bend over and breathe. We did make it to the car and started for the hospital. Man, was I in pain! Contractions were pretty close together now (about 6 or 7 mins) and each one of them took my breath away. Bangerter Hwy was pretty buy too which didn't help, considering that everyone seemed to just be out for a fun, relaxing, slow drive. We eventually made it to the hospital and David got a wheelchair for me. Even while sitting there and on the short ride to the 3rd floor, in Tower 1, I got a few more horrible contractions. They put me in a triage room and said that I was only about 4cm dilated, which didn't seem quite right since a few days before I was 3.5 and have been having contractions for the entire day. Anyway, the nurse, who we really didn't like because she did not seem very considerate or even even very knowledgeable, said that they would not send me home if I don't show any progress but they would make me walk around and make sure that I was in active labor before they admitted me. After the longest hour of my life, in which I was struggling not to strangle the nurse or break David's hand, the nurse said that I did make progress (I was now about 5 cm) so they helped me get into a delivery room. Walking to the room took forever as I was almost unable to walk, but I did make it and got into the hospital gown and in bed. Sitting in bed didn't help with the contractions but at least it was a little better than standing or walking. After another really long hour of blood tests, monitoring the baby and the contractions and two nurses trying to get an IV in, I announced that I was done with the pain and I would really appreciate some pain relief. The relief came in the form of an anesthesiologist who administered the wonderful invention of our modern days, the EPIDURAL! It hurt pretty bad getting it in, which I didn't remember from the previous deliveries, but soon I started feeling less contractions pain, at least on my right side. The left still hurt and we had to call the anesthesiologist after another 15 or 20 mins to see if he could help me get relief on my left side as well. I was worried that I was going to feel the pain on the left side, like it happened when I was in labor with Jane but the doctor put a strong dose of anesthetic into the epidural which soon started working on the left side as well and soon provided the relief I was craving so badly. So, I got to the hospital around 5pm, was admitted around 6:30pm and received the epidural around 7:30pm. From there things just started to pick up and around 10pm the nurse announced that I was getting very close and that they would call Dr. Merrill to come help deliver the baby. He showed up soon after and said that I was at 10cm and that I could start pushing. Pushed twice and Kaley's head was out but as I was starting to tear up, the doctor decided to perform an episiotomy. I really had hoped that I would not need one this time (the pain afterwards is pretty bad) but I did know that getting one would be better that not, so we did it again. Anyway, I started pushing for the third time but the doctor stopped me saying that he needed to help get Kaley's shoulders out and then she would be all here. Felt a little pulling inside my belly and Kaley came out! She cried a bit (got only a 7 in the APGAR score for the first cry, and a 9 after 5 minutes) and make a big poopy mess on the table where they put her to clean her up a little. Real soon they put her on my chest and I was so happy to see her and feel her little warm body. I held her and even nursed her a little and then they finished dressing her and doing a few tests. While they were taking care of Kaley, the doctor took care of my incision with great detail. He did a wonderful job cleaning and checking that my C-section incision on the uterus was intact and prescribed a bunch of medications for pain and antibiotics in case there was any sign of infection. Luckily, the doctor worked really well and in minute detail, so there were no complications. I did have pain and bleeding but all within normal. Speaking of the doctor, I really like him. He is very careful and nice and also a person one can talk with. When I said that I never got to see the placenta, he set it on a table and proceeded with a small lesson about it. He explained what the different parts were and how it worked. It was way cool and interesting and once again showed me how great of a doctor and person he is.
So, back to the story, Kaley was born on June 30th (screw the insurance! LOL) at 11:05pm at the Riverton Hospital, Salt Lake County, Utah. She was 7lbs 14oz and 19.5in long. She had fairly long, dark hair on her head and some on her back and shoulders (hahaha) and blue-gray eyes. She was really soft and squishy, had a cute, round head and loved to look at mommy and daddy.
Kaley and I stayed in the hospital for two days. She passed her bilirubin and hearing tests and I tried pretty hard to go number 2, which didn't happen with all the efforts everyone put into it. :) I also enjoyed fairly good meals, spending time with Kaley and having David with me the first night after Kaley was born.
We are so happy that our sweet Kaley is here and are excited to see her grow and learn new things every day. We love you baby girl, so very much!!!!

First Doctor's Visit for Baby 3

A couple of weeks ago I finally got to go to the doctor to check the progress of this pregnancy. The doctor was kind of weird but she did a good job making sure that I was ok. My blood pressure and urine were good and so far I haven't gained one pound (16 weeks)! I probably lost a couple with all the nausea and throwing up. Well, I haven't thrown up that much but definitely more than the first two pregnancies.
They drew a lot of blood and we even had a small ultrasound to confirm how far along I was and since the ultrasound was close to 16 weeks, we decided to keep the original due date. So, the official due date is July 11. The doctor said that as far as she could see in this quick scan, the baby looks good and healthy. She couldn't tell me the gender even though the baby kept showing its bum and legs and not much of anything else. We had a hard time putting the cursor on the heart to measure the heartbeat (it was good when we got to it) and even to measure the circumference of the head. Such a little squirmer, the doctor called so I guess this is mommy's little squirmer.
This week, on the 9 of February I really started feeling the baby move - the earliest of all (18 weeks) and I'm really happy. I missed that feeling :) So, on the 20th we'll have the full anatomy scan and hopefully we also find out if we have another girl or a boy. We love you little squirmer!

Merry Christmas 2012!

Jane, David, Dahlee (+ baby 3) and Alyss

Another year coming to a close... Many things have happened; some we welcomed and others we wish took their time to show up, but overall we had a good and fruitful year.

David’s major accomplishment was to get a new job with the Jordan School District as an IT professional. We are all happy for this new job that provides experience, insurance and a step in the right direction. He is also working on publishing a book on the iTunes store, which will be used by the teachers of the schools where he works. Another thing that David got really good at is being a father. He takes good care of our two girls and helps out around the house a lot, especially with laundry and dishes. He’s also become an expert in making peanut butter cookies. Everyone loves his cookies and asks for them whenever they get a chance. J

Jane is a busy two year old. She now runs and is getting pretty good at jumping, which she’s been practicing for a few good months now. Her talking skills have grown quite a bit too. She talks, asks for the things she likes, wants or needs and knows how to express herself pretty well both in Romanian and in English. She is a good big sister too; gives Alyss her binky or bottle and lets us know whenever Alyss is crying. Jane knows seven letters, “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “Old McDonald” and, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and can count to 3 by herself and to 8 with help. We are also working on potty training and are being pretty successful. She forgets about it sometimes while other times she herself brings the potty to us. One major accomplishment is the fact that she now sleeps through the night, which makes us really happy. She loves Toy Story and has a pretty big crush on Buzz so of course we know what the major theme of this year’s Christmas gifts will be.. We love our baby girl so much!

Alyss is now ten months old. She was born in February and was 7lb 10 oz and 19 in long. She loves to stand up all by herself. She loves to play with Jane and does everything that Jane does. She claps and says ‘bye bye’ and ‘bravo’, loves music and dances a lot and loves food. She eats everything that we eat. She is a clam baby and usually cries only when she needs something. She plays with Jane’s toys and observes everything we do. She is such a sweet little girl who gives really nice hugs. I just love it when she looks into my eyes and touches my face.

As for myself, I am really busy staying home with the girls. It’s a full time job that doesn’t give you any vacation time but it does provide plenty of benefits. I love being home with the girls and watch them grow. I learn more about being a mother every day and it’s wonderful. We go on walks a lot; go to the park on nice days and to the library. The girls like our walks and enjoy being outdoors which makes me happy. A piece of news some of you might not be aware of, we are expecting our third baby in June or July. This pregnancy’s been a little harder on me so far; more morning sickness mainly, but other than that I’m feeling ok and can’t wait to find out in about ten more weeks the gender of our new baby. We love having girls so, another girl will make us very happy, while having a baby boy would also be wonderful. In a couple of weeks we’ll have the first ultrasound and I’m excited for that as well. Seeing the tiny baby move inside my belly always makes me happy and even more excited for the new arrival.

We are all thankful for the good year we’ve had and are looking forward to more adventures the year to come. Happy holidays and Merry Christmas and a new year with love, health and many accomplishments!

Johansens 2012

Baby 3!

Baby 3 is here!

Well, I can't believe that I've been pregnant for over two months and haven't posted any updates in here.

So, yes, we are expecting baby 3. What a joy! It's a pretty cool story how we decided to have another baby this soon. It happened in September-ish when we started talking about this baby name. One day, later that week, I just couldn't stop myself from thinking about the name. When David came home from work, I asked him what the name was, since I couldn't remember to save my life. He told me and he said that he's been thinking about it a lot that day too. We both felt like that was pretty much the call for a new baby. About the same time I was still wearing an IUD so, birth control was still in place. I went to the clinic and asked how much it would cost to remove it and I was told that it would be $165 - too much for our tight budget. While all this was happening I was also experiencing some pregnancy-like symptoms. I would get terrible motion sickness immediately after getting in the car, I was being nauseous at times and also lightheaded. On October 4th though my period came. This time didn't have spotting the couple of days before, like in the previous months after Alyss's birth, and the period was light and really short (a couple of days). Didn't pay much attention to it even though a lot of people who knew me kept saying that I acted pregnant. I couldn't be though, since I just had a period and an IUD in place. Well, at the end of the period I researched about pulling IUDs out and I decided to give it  try. Please, no judging. So, I gave it a little nudge and it came right out. After that I pretty much knew that I was going to get pregnant since it only takes us a few times usually to conceive. And I was right. Next period never showed and the pregnancy test was positive.

As of right now, I haven't consulted a doctor yet and will wait until we are about 12 weeks along (in January). The first sonogram will tell us for sure when this baby was conceived and if I was already pregnant when I had my last period. If so, the baby would probably be due in June. If not, then July will be the month. I can't wait to find out and also to see what the gender of the baby will be. I won't disclose in here the name (or gender) we think that the baby will be. We will be happy with either and actually have names for both. Of course, twins would be awesome, one of each, but I'm 99% sure that it's not going to happen.

We are very happy and excited for this new baby and even though this pregnancy so far's been a little harder (quite a bit of morning sickness, more cravings in the beginning and tiredness - which I actually experienced in the first trimester with the first two pregnancies as well) I'm enjoying it just as much and I can't wait to see that first picture of the baby. We love you baby 3!

2011 - A year of love

December 2011

Happy together

As we approach the Christmas holiday and the end of the year, we once again reflect on the year we’ve had and the ups and downs that enriched and filled our lives. As our family’s tradition goes, we like to put on paper the highlights of our year. We hope you enjoy reading about us and hope to hear back about your lives.                                                                                                                                  

David’s year’s been an interesting one. He worked two jobs at Simply Mac and Borders Bookstore all the way until the end of July and got accepted into a Master Program at the New York Institute of Technology. As we were getting ready to leave, the school asked David to postpone starting school until January 2012 because of changes they were still working on. October rolls by and we learn that the changes were more drastic than we thought and involved an entirely online program. Our plans to move to NYC changed once again with us deciding to stay in Utah and continue with our lives. David still works at Simply Mac while looking into finding computer training jobs that he might be qualified for or even some other better paying jobs that could provide enough income for us to live a decent life.

Jane's Second Christmas

Dahlee had a pretty eventful year as well. Being a stay-home-mom for Jane, she worked at being a good example and a loving mother to her. Seeing Jane grow brings Dahlee much joy and a sense of accomplishment. In June, we found out that we are expecting our second baby, which we found out is another girl. We are so excited to bring Jane a little baby sister and hope that they will love each other very much. In September, Dahlee was sworn in and became an American citizen. She is very happy and proud to be an American and even changed her name to Dahlee Anna to make it a bit easier to pronounce for everyone. One activity that Dahlee became very interested in and enjoyed doing this year is crocheting. She’s made many cute hats and is thinking and hoping to be able to make more and to even sell them. She already has a few orders and sold a couple of hats too.

Jane is one

Jane turned one in November. We had a nice party for her and she received many cool gifts. She is as happy as can be and is developing ways to express her feelings and needs more. Sometimes that means she cries or screams, while other times it means smiling or pointing with her finger. We went to Disneyland in October and Jane loved the carousels. Some milestones Jane accomplished this year include sitting on her own, eating by herself, mastering the pincer grasp, crawling, walking while holding unto furniture, saying ‘mama’ and ‘dada’ and walking while holding our hand.

We had a good year and hope that the next will be even better, especially with the arrival of a new baby in February, the visit of my Mom and Jane growing taller, walking and talking. We are thankful for dear family members and friends who stood by us in good and not so good times and for the things we were able to accomplish this year. Now, at the end of 2011, we wish you to have a wonderful holiday season surrounded by your loved ones and a wonderful and successful 2012.

Jane loves stuffed animals and barks like a little dog when she sees one :)

Love, David, Dahlee and Jane

Parties!

In May we had some more partying. We did our nails and Eve was our nails expert, and we also had a ZUMBA workout and sweated all the bad stuff out. Meeting with my dear friends once a month or more often makes me really happy. I'm so thankful to have them close and to be able to hang out and have fun with them!

Beautiful nails and hands

ZUMBA fun

This pretty much sums up the party :)